Math

What does it really mean for a satellite to orbit the Earth? What’s the math behind it? And what’s the math behind the rockets that get those satellites into orbit? Keep on reading to find out!

If it quacks like a sphere…

It took me a long time to understand the mysterious mathematical property of compactness 

Innovation is critical to sustained economic growth—and mathematics can help us understand how it works 

When tiny particles of space debris slam into satellites, the collision could cause the emission of hardware-frying radiation. Christopher Intagliata reports. 

Nadine Gaab, an associate professor of pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and Jennifer Zuk, a doctoral student at Harvard University, answer: 

Come for the fractals. Stay for the bunny puns

I took a walk and tripped—almost literally—over a beautiful octagonal tiling

Rue Sophie Germain is not the only Paris street named for a mathématicienne

Researchers have trotted out data that show a combination of whipping and stomping forces is what causes laces to unravel without warning. Karen Hopkin reports.

How large was the crowd at the recent U.S. presidential inauguration? Or the inauguration eight years ago? Keep on reading to find out how crowd sizes are estimated

Are there are questions in science and mathematics that by their very nature are unanswerable?